This invention relates to an information retrieval apparatus and method, and more particularly to an information retrieval apparatus and method wherein an image is fetched and a current position is detected and then, based on the position detected, image data which conforms with the fetched image is selected from among image data selectively stored in advance and a URL or the like corresponding to the selected image data is retrieved.
In the Internet which is a world-wide computer network, a WWW (World Wide Web) which provides various information has been established.
Here, for an information providing system available on the Internet, WWW developed by CERN (European Center for Nuclear Search) in Switzerland is known. This technology allows a user to browse information including text, image and voice for example in the hyper text form. Based on HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol), the information stored in a WWW server terminal is sent asynchronously to terminals such as personal computers.
The WWW server is constituted by server software called HTTP demon and HTML file in which hyper text information is stored. The hyper text information is described in a description language called HTML (Hyper Text Makeup Language). In the description of a hyper text by HTML, a logical structure of a document is expressed in a format specification called tag enclosed by "&lt;" and "&gt;". Description of linking to other information is made based in link information called anchor. A method in which a location at which required information is stored by the anchor is URL (Uniform Resource Locator).
A protocol for transferring a file described in HTML on the TCP/IP network is HTTP. This protocol has a capability of transferring a request for information from a client to the WWW server and the requested hyper text information stored in the HTML file to the client.
Used by many as an environment for using WWW is client software such as Netscape Navigator (trademark) called WWW browser.
Using the WWW browser, a file on a WWW server on the Internet which spreads in a world-wide scale corresponding to a URL, a so-called home page, can be automatically down-loaded, and as is called netsurfing, a network service wherein home pages which are linked to each other are successively traced to observe various information sources of WWW can be enjoyed.
It should be noted that demon denotes a program for executing control and processing in the background when performing a job in the UNIX environment.
FIG. 8 illustrates a manner in which a terminal equipment such as a WWW server is connected to the Internet.
Referring to FIG. 8, the WWW includes a large number of WWW servers 51 connected to the Internet. The WWW servers 51 provide home pages of the hyper text form and so forth to other terminal equipments connected to the Internet in response to accesses from them.
In order to access such a WWW server 51 as described above, such a procedure is taken that a terminal equipment such as a work station 52 connected to the Internet is manually operated to access the WWW server 51 or a popular personal computer 53 to which a modem is connected is used to log in, via a telephone line, to a predetermined host machine (access provider) 54 connected to the Internet and then access the WWW server 51 from the host machine 54.
Accordingly, accessing to a WWW server 51 is normally performed indoors such as in an office in which such work station 52 is provided or in a house of an individual who owns such personal computer 53.
Accordingly, for example, when it is intended to acquire, during shopping in a town, information of a certain shop in the town from a home page of the WWW, it is a possible procedure, for example, to connect a portable telephone set 56 to a portable personal computer 55 provided with a modem, log in to the host machine 54 and access a WWW server 51.
In such an instance, however, a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the home page which provides information of the shop must be remembered in advance. Further, where a portable telephone set is connected to and used with a portable personal computer with a modem, the overall system becomes bulky. Further, since a URL must be inputted using a keyboard, the operability is low when the system is used outdoors such as in a town.